In this week's episode of Space Minds, Robert Zubrin, president of the Mars Society, sits down with host David Ariosto. With the debate heating up over exploration priorities, Zubrin lays out how — and why — humanity could become a multiplanetary species by heading to Mars. Watch — or listen — to learn more about Zubrin's vision for life on Mars and how it will be molded — and help mold — society back on Earth.

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ESA has awarded Thales Alenia Space a contract worth about $383 million in total to lead the development of EnVision, slated to launch in November 2031 on a 15-month journey to study Venus.

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NASA experts argue that lunar missions are essential before attempting any human expeditions to the Red Planet.

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NASA has refined its strategy for future robotic exploration of Mars, advocating for a regular cadence of smaller missions to answer key questions in advance of human missions.

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As the next administration takes shape, countless voices are vying for influence over the future of America’s space program. I’d wager one in particular — someone apparently very close to […]

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BREMEN, Germany — The European and Japanese space agencies have issued a joint statement on furthering cooperation on planetary defense, the moon, Mars and beyond. JAXA President Hiroshi Yamakawa and […]

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It won’t be easy for NASA to buy commercial services to support Mars exploration. The vast distance between Earth and the Red Planet poses a significant challenge, as do the […]

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HELSINKI — China is on course to launch its Tianwen-3 Mars sample return mission in 2028, according to the mission’s lead. Liu Jizhong, chief designer of Tianwen-3, provided an update […]

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NASA has declared the end of the mission for the Ingenuity Mars helicopter after 72 flights, exceeding even the most optimistic expectations.

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The launch of a Japanese mission to collect samples from the Martian moon Phobos and return them to Earth, previously scheduled for later this year, has slipped to 2026.

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NASA’s robotic Mars exploration program is in crisis. A recent review of the plan of its flagship Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission pegged its cost at $10 billion, a price tag that threatens to preclude funding any other exploration missions to the Red Planet for the next decade and a half.

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A global team of scientists have announced the results of an unprecedented collaboration to search for the source of the largest ever seismic event recorded on Mars. The study, led […]

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A computer pilot helps NASA’s six-wheeled geologist as it searches for rock samples that could be brought to Earth for deeper investigation. In about a third of the time it […]

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An Independent Review Board (IRB) looked at NASA’s current plans and goals of the first mission to return samples from Mars, and NASA is establishing a team to respond. In […]

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NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter successfully completed its 54th flight on Aug. 3, the first flight since the helicopter cut its July 22 flight short. The 25-second up-and-down hop provided data […]

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Scientists have made the most precise measurements ever of Mars’ rotation, for the first time detecting how the planet wobbles due to the “sloshing” of its molten metal core. The […]

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NASA’s Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV) recently reached some major milestones in support of the Mars Sample Return program. The Mars Ascent Vehicle would be the first launch of a rocket […]

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Following a successful inflatable habitat burst test in December 2022, Lockheed Martin conducted another subscale burst test on June 14 in Colorado—and like the first time, it went off with […]

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The 52nd flight of NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter is now in the official mission logbook as a success. The flight took place back on April 26, but mission controllers at […]

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A study led by Brown University researchers offers new insights into how water from melting ice could have played a recent role in the formation of ravine-like channels that cut […]

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NASA’s MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) mission acquired stunning views of Mars in two ultraviolet images taken at different points along our neighboring planet’s orbit around the Sun. By […]

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U.S. Geological Survey releases huge amounts of Mars data in ready-to-use formats. This will allow scientists and the public to view Mars at high resolution with unprecedented ease. There is […]

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Researchers are working on sustainable technology to harvest solar power in space – which could supplement life support systems on the Moon and Mars. In a study published in Nature […]

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Two companies are preparing for a 2026 launch of what they believe will be the first commercial robotic Mars lander mission, the start of what the companies plan to be a regular series of such missions.

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